Oxford Handbook of Health Communication, Behavior Change, and Treatment Adherence

Better health all around--this is what clinicians and patients, alike, desire. But achieving and maintaining good health can be difficult task, as this requires the adoption of behaviors, habits, and lifestyles that are challenging for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the most vital tool in the delivery of healthcare, despite its low-tech nature, is communication--it plays an important role in informing, motivating, and ultimately achieving optimal health behaviors. This edited volume brings together top-notch scientists and practitioners to explain and illustrate the state-of-the-art in the interfaces of health communication, behavior change, and treatment adherence.

The Oxford Handbook of Health Communication, Behavior Change, and Treatment Adherence presents a three-factor model that includes information, motivation, and strategy. If individuals are to engage in health-promoting behaviors they must be informed and know what they should do and how to do it. But information is not enough--individuals must want to carry out those behaviors, they must be motivated to do so. Finally, people must have the resources to do those things that they know are good and that they desire to do--barriers must be minimized or removed and effective strategies and support systems put into place. Although these three elements are broadly applicable, their details will necessarily vary; the second major section of the handbook therefore revisits health behavior change and treatment adherence from the perspective of different points in the lifespan and in the context of comorbidities.

Readers will find in this handbook a synthesis of cutting-edge empirical research and demonstrably effective applications, solidly grounded in theory. Clearly written by some of the best scholars and professionals in the field, this volume is accessible, highly informative, and a must-have for understanding the ins-and-outs of health communication, behavior change, and treatment adherence.

Leslie R. Martin, Ph.D., is professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at La Sierra University; she is also a research psychologist at the University of California, Riverside.

M. Robin DiMatteo, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of California, Riverside.